MacOS - How to Map Network Drives with NetID
Access to the Surgery Network Drives is restricted to certain networks for security purposes.
Establishing a Connection
Working in the office, computer is docked
If you are working in the building on a wired connection or a dock, your connection is already sufficient for access. Your dock should have a wired connection to the internal network. As a result, you can skip down to Mapping Network Drives.
Working Remotely
When working remotely, we will first need to get onto the internal network by establishing a connection to SMPH VPN.
- This Surgery KB article will show you how to connect to the internal network using Global Protect: Working Remotely - How to Connect to SMPH VPN
- Once you follow those steps, you can left-click on the Global Protect icon in your system tray to verify that you are connected.
- Once connected to SMPH VPN, you can proceed to the next steps.
Mapping Network Drives
MacOS network drives are made possible by using the built-in Apple SSO functionality.
- Network drives will not work unless you are using a wired network connection in your office or connected to SMPH VPN (see above)
First Time Connections
- The first time you log in to the Mac, you should be prompted to "sign into AD.WISC.EDU"
- Type your UW-Madison NetID password and click Sign In
- You may also click on the key-shaped SSO icon in the top menu bar and Sign In if it does not.
- If you do not see the key-shaped SSO icon in your Mac's menu bar, your DOS computer has not yet been migrated to Campus AD (CADS).
- If this is the first time you've connected your network drives, MacOS will ask you if its okay to connect to the different network drives. Click Connect to allow each of the connections.
- Once you have allowed those connections, your network locations will start to appear on your desktop.
- Double click on a folder to open a Finder window to the location. You may see other areas that you have permissions to as well.
Regular Connections
- Click on the key-shaped SSO icon in the top menu bar and select Sign In.
- Type your UW-Madison NetID password and click Sign In
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- You will be prompted for your password if you see a "No Credential Available" message in the Apple SSO Menu
- This login should be good for at least 12 hours. If you need to reconnect your network drives later in the day, it will automatically connect without asking for your password again (see below).
- Your network locations will start to appear on your desktop.
- Double click on a folder to open a Finder window to the location. You may see other areas that you have permissions to as well.
Reconnecting Network Drives
This section is generally for more specific scenarios, like when a connection drops unexpectedly or when you return from an offline or off-campus state. For example, the VPN was disconnected, or the Ethernet cable was unplugged. In this case, the SSO extension should automatically reconnect.
If you are remote, you'll likely need to first re-connect to SMPH VPN. See above "Establishing a Connection" for details.
- If your drives do not automatically come back, click on the key-shaped SSO icon in the top menu bar and select Reconnect.
- If your connection has been lost or if you computer has gone to sleep, simply connect to SMPH VPN again. Your drives will automatically reconnect after your connection is re-established.
Password Synchronization
If you recently changed your UW-Madison NetID password, or if your local Mac password is different than your NetID password, then you may get a prompt to synchronize your Active Directory and Mac Password.
Note: Your NetID password is your Active Directory password.
If the passwords don't match, the extension will sync them by changing your Mac password to match your NetID password.
Once completed, you will see the window shown below:
It is recommended that you keep these passwords the same both for ease of use and so that you do not see this prompt every time. If the Apple SSO plugin detects that your passwords are different, you will see this prompt until they are equivalent.
How can I get to specific folders more quickly?
Create an Alias by right-clicking (Control Click or two-finger click) on the folder in the Finder window and select the "Make Alias" option.
By default, the Alias will appear on the Desktop. This can be moved, copied, or pinned to the finder window (see next section). Double-clicking on this alias will bring you directly to the specified folder in a Finder window.
If you are not connected to SMPH VPN and/or if you are not logged in to the Apple SSO functionality, you will not be able to get to that network location when you double-click on the alias.